The national capital Ulaanbaatar is located roughly at its center, but the city itself is administered as an independent municipality.

The landscape has an alpine character, with larch and pine forests, sparkling mountain rivers, and very diverse flora and fauna.

The Gun-Galuut Nature Reserve is a protected area founded in 2003 to conserve globally threatened species and their habitat.

Because it is considered sacred, the mountain Mount Bogd Khan south of Ulaanbaatar has been a protected area since 1778.

In Sergelen, the urban development project Maidar City is planned to relieve the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar.